During my time with a national nonprofit in Washington, D.C., I found myself assigned to projects that were already in process or rehashes of annual solicitations. This required some fast turnarounds, as we were on tight deadlines. But, we still had to make these donor requests lively and effective.

The section where all of the stories and marketing efforts came together was in the "check-off" area. Strangely, the top amount our pamphlet was requesting was a mere $2,500. I asked my director why.

 His answer was, "That's what we've always done."

With a little coaxing, I convinced him to increase the top amount to $5,000.

After the solicitations were disseminated, the results spoke for themselves. Four donors had upped their donations to the new top level, increasing our yield by over $12,000. With a few extra numbers and an underline, we made a difference to our bottom line.

Crush the box!

"Think outside of the box"— is so clichéd that I hope the world will invent some new catch phrase to indicate a refreshing approach to arriving at solutions.

Perhaps we should crush the box, dismantle the box, jump over the box, or invite others to join us in the box for a party.

In any case, we need to think about new ways to accomplish our tasks. But beware! The innovator must also be charismatic…

Welcome to Research Friday! As part of a continuing weekly series, each Friday we invite a nonprofit expert to highlight current research reports or studies and discuss how they can inform and improve day-to-day nonprofit practice.

Earlier this year Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) asked for a few minutes of your time to help us tell the collective story of the nonprofit sector. And that you did. Thanks to you, we received a record 4,607 responses nationwide to our 2012 State of the Sector Survey, more than doubling responses from last year. Notably, human services agencies that comprise our social safety net were represented quite well and the same held true for Arizona responses. With your help, we’ve amassed a wealth of current information on demand for services, trends in government support, board participation, and financial health. Using this data, we now have an opportunity to start some difficult but important conversations about the true state of our sector.

What are the big picture conversations about? As usual, increased demand with decreased or unreliable funding. The chart below highlights that upward trend. In 2011, 85% of respondents reported…

In January of this year, nonprofit organization Invisible Children released “Kony 2012,” a video about Joseph Kony. In less than 2 months, the YouTube video has gained over 100 million views and educated millions about the crimes of the Lord’s Resistance Army in Uganda.

In March, over 2 million people signed an online petition asking the city of Sanford, Florida to investigate the death of 17 year-old Trayvon Martin. Using Facebook and Twitter, signers have shared this petition with their followers and friends.

We have entered an age where silence and misinformation are no longer acceptable, and supporters are eager to rally around causes.

Is your organization using social media, or are you still trying to figure it all out? The time to wait has come and gone. Now is the time to act and give your cause the voice it needs. Here are some helpful tips that will get you organized and help build a strong community online.

1. Plan, plan, plan. By planning ahead and creating a content schedule, you will save your nonprofit time and money. Sit down with your marketing team (which could be just you and another volunteer), and list out all of your ideas. From there create a list of blog topics. Decide how often you would like to post and begin to delegate the…

Welcome to Research Friday! As part of a continuing weekly series, each Friday we invite a nonprofit expert to highlight current research reports or studies and discuss how they can inform and improve day-to-day nonprofit practice.

"Why should I support the rest of the world when there is so much need in my own country?" is a question I often hear people ask. In fact, though the U.S. is a rich country and, as of 2011, ranks as the most generous nation in the world,1 only five percent of its charitable giving goes to international causes.2

I am a student in the Master of Nonprofit Studies program at Arizona State University and work for the ASU Lodestar Center. As I become more immersed in the nonprofit world, I learn more about dilemmas in philanthropy; questions like: "where will my contribution have the most impact?"  Or, "how can I be certain my money will be used adequately?" While it is true that donors should inform themselves and balance their options carefully before contributing, I also believe that when it comes to giving, you should listen to your "gut feeling": that voice from your heart telling you where to help.

Here are three simple reasons why your "heart" may tell you to give to international causes:…

Networking. We’ve all heard the term, had workshops and classes on it, gone to seminars, digested it— but why? Why has this notion demanded so much attention and effort and become a “must have” skill for our professional wheelhouses? It’s simple: networking is necessary to progress at any level in business and is especially paramount for nonprofit leaders.

Networking helps build a professional reputation backed by a cadre of supporters and believers. It is this network that can corroborate your credentials and solidify your standing with other interested parties. These are the people who cannot only help you find jobs or partnerships, but can potentially recommend you to employers and connect you with donors. With nonprofits fighting for resources, it only makes sense that we would want to meet as many people who can connect us to donors, funders and experts in the field.

With that said, every one of our contacts is a potential client, a potential resource and if treated well, a potential partner or donor. I’ve heard innumerable stories of people transitioning casual contacts to loyal clients or invaluable assets to their personal brand. People like to be connectors, they like to be of importance and they love to see their facilitation yield fruition. However, no matter how altruistic we want to believe we are, people also like reciprocity and that means making a contact might generate something advantageous in the…